Roll wrapping machine



Nov. 13, 1962 o, N, ELLMAN, JR 3,063,214

ROLL WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 2, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov, 13,1962o. N. ELLMAN, JR 3,063,214

ROLLAWRAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 2, 1961 Sheets-Sheet 2 United StatesThis invention relates to wrapping machines. More particularly, thisinvention relates to a new and improved machine for wrapping largecylindrical articles in a wrapper having overh-anging portions andsmoothly crimping the overhanging portion against the end faces of thearticle.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved wrappingmachine utilizing a new and novel crimping assembly that substantiallyeliminates sliding friction in the crimping operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedwrapping machine for wrapping large diameter cylindrical articles havingtwo horizontally movable and opposing rotating crimping assembliesmounted and driven on a common and vertically adjustable shaft.

Another object of this invention is to provide -a new and improvedwrapping machine having means for -quickly and easily moving one of thecrimping assemblies toward or vfrom a relatively stationary crimpingassembly.

Another object of this invention is Vto provide acrimp- `ing head which,irrespective of the greater or lesser stiffness of the wrapper material,will provide a smooth and uniform crimped edge portion.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new 'and improvedcrimping head` which is adaptable for cylindrical articles of diiferentlengths and diameters.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedwrapping machine for rapidly Wrapping and crimping lcylindricalarticlesl that is simple in design, economical to manufacture, andversatile in operation.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent as the following description is read in light ofthe raccompanying drawings wherein:

FIGS. l, 2 and 3 are side, top and front views, respectively, showing aportion of a wrapping machine embodying the present invention; and

'FIGS 4, S, 6 and 7 show various crimping assembly arrangements vwithinthe scope of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3, a wrapping machine according to thepresent invention generally comprises `spaced lloor mounted base members10, outwardly extending support arms 12 pivotally attached to each basemember 1t), means such as rams 14jfor providing-an `arcuatedisplacementof theV support arms 12 relative to the floor 30, a shaft11 extendingbetween the outermost -portions of support arms 12, iirst and secondcrimping assemblies 19, slidably mounted on the shaft 11 for rotationtherewith, independently operable means 50, 55 nfor axiallyl shiftingthe crimping assemblies 19, 20 toward and from each other, means -forsupporting a' cylindrical v ICC article and imparting thereto a rotatingmovement about its axis.

Each base member 10 comprises a door mounted vertically extendinghousing having side, front and rear wall members 16, 17, 18,respectively. An opening 26 is defined in the upper portion of frontWall member 17. coaxial apertures 27 are dened in each side wall portionladjacent to the front wall opening 26.

Each supporting arm 12 includes a rearwardly extending crank portion 13and an aperture 15. Each arm 12 is disposed in op-ening 26 and ispivotally mounted therein by pin 28 inserted through the two coaxialside wall apertures 27 and arm aperture 15. Suitable retaining means(not shown) are disposed -at the ends of pin 28 to prevent accidentalremoval thereof. Crank portion 13 of arm 12 extends into the interior ofbase member 10. Arcuate displacing means ksuch as a vdouble acting ram14 is pivotally connected tocrank 13 and to base member 10 by means ofpins 23. Actuation of ram 14 rotates arm 12 about pin 28 causing arm 12to raise or lower relative to the surface of oor 30.

Shaft 11 extends between the arms 12 and is rotatably mounted thereonadjacent the ends thereof. .Variable drive means, such as a variablespeed motor 32, is mounted on a base mem-ber 10 and is connected toshaft 11 by positive ydrive means such as a roller chain 33l connectingmotor sprocket 34 with shaft sprocket 35.

First crimping assembly 19 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) in cludes a bearing 40, ahub 41, and a plurality of rollers and segmental plates 42, 43 attachedto and extending radially outward from the hub 41. As viewed in FIG. 4,first crimping assembly'19 is rotated counterclockwise. The hub 41 isprovided with a central -bore 44 having means such as splines 45 definedtherein for cooperation with corresponding means such as splines 46defined on shaft 11 so that hub 41 can slide along shaft 11.

The rollers 42 and segmental plates 43 are alternately attached to thehub 41 and extend radially outward therefrom. The rollers 42 havingrounded outer ends are attached to hub 41 and delineate a rotatingorbital path about the rotational axis of the shaft 11. The rounded endsof rollers 42 prevent tearing the wrapper during the wrapping operation.It should be noted that it is the function of the rollers 42 to do thecrimping whereas it is the function of the plates 43 to prevent thecrimped overhang from opening due to the inherent resiliency of paper.

The segmental plates 43 are attached to the hub 41 by suitable meanssuch as bolts (not shown). The leading edge 47 of each plate 43 isdisposed adjacent the trailing surface of each roller 42 and extendsradially outward from the hub `41 terminating short of the radiallyoutward end of each roller 42. The trailing edge 48 of the plate 43 isdisposed adjacent the leading surface of each roller 42 and extendsradially outward from the hub 41 less than the leading edge 47. Theperipheral edge 49 of each plate 43 is arcuate and provides a smoothperipheral transition between the leading and trailing edges 47, 48,respectively, of each plate 43.

Second crimping assembly 26 is similar to assembly 19, being disposed onshaft 11 facing assembly 19 and rotated in the same direction.

The crimping assemblies 19, 20 are biased against the ends of thecylindrical article, and being rotated about their own axis, crimp theoverhanging portion against the ends of the article. The segmentalplates 43 are disposed on the hub 41 so as to provide a small spacebetween the ends of the cylindrical article and the surface thereof soas to prevent the crimped overhanging portion of wrapper fromuncrimping. In other words, the spacing between the planes defined bythe facing peripheral surfaces of the rollers 42 of assemblies 19, 20 isless than the spacing between the planes defined by the facing surfacesof the `segmental plates 43. To prevent the segmental plates 43 fromsnagging and tearing the wrapper during the crimping operation, theleading edges 47 0f the plates 43 adjacent rollers 42 are designed tominimize the gap between each roller 42 and each plate 43.

Bearing 4G are rotatably attached to hubs 41 and are fixedly associatedwith independently operable axial shifting means permitting hubs 41 torotate relative to bearings 40.

The axial shifting means attached to the first crimping assembly 19hereinafter referred to as the first axial shifting means 51 is disposedadjacent the outer end of one supporting arm 12 parallel to shaft 11 andcomprises a double acting two position air cylinder 50 mounted on theouter end of the arm 12 and connected to the bearing 40. The first axialshifting means 1 actuates the first crimping assembly 19 between aninoperative and an operative position.

The axial shifting means attached to the second crimping assembly ishereinafter referred to as the second axial shifting means 52 andincludes a ball screw assembly 53 comprising a ball screw shaft 54extending between the supporting arms 12 parallel to and rearwardly ofshaft 54 extending between the supporting arms 12 parallel to andrearwardly of shaft 11, and a connecting member 56, the ball screw shaft54 being operatively connected to the second crimping assembly bearing40 by connecting member 56. Means such as air motor 55 rotate the ballscrew shaft 54, axially shifting crimping assembly 20 toward and fromthe first crimping assembly operative position.

As shown in FIGS. l through 3, means for supporting and rotating thecylindrical article 69 comprise a pair ofturning rolls 24 disposed in apit 25 defined in oor 30 below and parallel to shaft 11 so that theupper surfaces of turning rolls 24 are substantially coplanar with thefloor surface. Means such as plates 29, fiush with the floor, bridge thegaps between the edges of the pit and the upper surfaces of turningrolls 24 permit the cylindrical` articles to easily move onto and off ofthe turning rolls. Means (not shown) are provided in pit -25' forrotating one or both of the turning rolls 24.

Suitable sensing arrangements are provided to adjust the wrappingmachine for accommodating cylindrical articles of different widths anddiameters. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a vertical sensing arm 58,extending downwardly `from the first crimping assembly 19, is providedwith a switch 59 controlling the downward movement of arms 12. As thearms 12 are rotated downward toward the door 30, the sensing arm 58engages the periphery of the article to be wrapped, actuating the switchS9 and-stopping the downward movement of the support arms 12.

A horizontal sensing arm 60 extends inwardly from the second-crimpingassembly 20 and is provided with a switch 61 controlling the axialmovement of crimping assembly 20 toward the operative position ofcrimping assembly `19. Movement of the second crimping assembly 20toward the first crimping assembly 19 operative posi- 4 tion causessensing arm to engage the end of the article to be wrapped and actuatesswitch 61 stopping the inward movement of the second crimping assembly20.

A wrapper sheet feeding machine (not shown) is operatively associatedwith the wrapping machine to feed a sheet of wrapper thereto. Thewrapper feed machine dispenses, manually or automatically, the size ofsheet required, applies glue to the leading and trailing edges of thewrapper, and feeds the prepared wrapper sheet to the wrapping machine sothat the leading edge of the wrapper is disposed over the turning rolls24.

In operation, a prepared wrapper equal to the axial width :of thearticle to be wrapped plus a predetermined amount of wrapper extensionat the ends of the article is centrally disposed over the turning rolls24 and a cylindrical article 69 is placed on the turning rolls 24. Thesupporting arms 12 are lowered until the vertical sensing device 58engages the outer periphery of the cylindrical article 69 and actuatesthe switch 59, stopping the downward movement thereof. Piston 50actuates the first crimping assembly 19 from its inoperative to itsoperative position, and the ball screw assembly 53 axially moves thesecond crimping assembly 20 toward the first crimping assembly 19operative position until the horizontal sensing device 60 engages theend of the article 69 to actuate switch 61 stopping the inward movementof the second crimping assembly 20.

The turning rolls 24 and the crimping assemblies 19, 20 are actuatedcausing the wrapper to be wrapped therearound and crimping theoverhanging portions thereof. The crimping assemblies 19, 20 are rotatedabout their own axis a number of revolutions equal to or greater thanthe revolution of the turning rolls to smoothly and evenly crimp theoverhanging portion against the ends of the cylindrical article 69.

After the cylindrical article 69 is wrapped completely and the crimpingoperation is completed, ejector assembly 29 ejects the wrapped articleoutwardly from the turning rolls 24 along the floor.

If desired, an end or roll head (not shown) may be applied to thewrapped article.

It is also possible to utilize modifications of the crimping assembliesas shown in FIGS. 5, 6'and 7.

Referring to FIG; 5, crimping assembly 62' comprises a plurality ofrollers'42 extending radially outward from hub 41', each rollerdelineating an orbital path within the-same plane about a c'ommonorbital axis.

In* FIGS. 6 and: 7, crimping lassemblies 63, 64 utilize different rollerconfigurations in order to further reduce the friction encountered invthe crimping operation and thereby decrease the tendency of the wrappersheet to tear. In FIG. 6, a plurality of coaxial and independentlyrotatable rollersv 65 permit thev radially innermost and outermostrollers to revolve a dissimilar number of revolutions andi thus provideproportional peripheral velocities to" substantially coincide with thelinear velocity of the the point of contact on the end face of thecylindrical article.

In FIG. 7, rollers 66 are conical and mounted to hub 41 so that theplane of the rollers 66 crimping the wrapper is parallel to the endfaces of the cylindrical article and the planev of the plates 43. Thetaper of the rollers 66 provides az peripheral velocity along theperiphery of the rollers that substantially coincides with the linearvelocity along the points of contact between the end face of thecylindricalarticles and the rollers while maintaining a uniform axialvelocity.

While `a preferred embodiment, according to the present l invention, hasbeen illustrated and described, it is under- 1. A machine for wrappingand crimping the projecting ends of wrapping material over the ends of acylindrical article being wrapped comprising `a parallel pair of spacedturning rolls for supporting and turning said cylindrical article;driving means for driving at least one of `said turning rolls, a pair offixed base members having pivoted support arms extending outward aboveand outside said turning rolls, a shaft extending between and rotatablymounted at the outer ends of said arms, shaft driving means for drivingsaid shaft, a pair of crimping assemblies slidably associated on saidshaft for rotation therewith, said crimping assemblies each including ahub, a plurality of rotatable crimping members attached to and extendingoutward from said hub member dening a rotary orbital axis about therotational axis of said hub, said crimping members having an axis ofrotation transverse to the plane of the axis of rotation of said hub, abearing member connected to said hub, said hub being rotatable relativeto said bearing, and means associ-ated with each of said bearing membersto axially move one of said crimping units between an inoperative andoperative position and axially move said other crimping unit toward andfrom one of said crimping assemblies operative position.

2. A machine for placing a wrapper around a cylindrical article andcrimping edge portions of the wrapper overhanging the ends of thecylindrical article comprising: supporting and rotating means forsupporting a cylindrical article and imparting thereto a rotatingmovement around its axis, means supporting a rotatable shaft above andparallel to said supporting and rotating means, means for driving saidshaft, axially adjustable crimping assemblies associated with said shaftfor rotation therewith, each crimping assembly including a hub having aplurality of elements extending therefrom and rotating therewith, saidelements defining an orbital path concentric with the rotational axis ofsaid shaft actuating means for axially shifting one `of said crimpingassemblies between an inoperative and an operative position, and foraxially moving the other of said crimping assemblies toward and fromsaid first crimping assembly operative position, and a guiding systemoperative to position each of said crimping assemblies in response tosaid article dimensions.

3. A machine for placing 1a wrapper around a cylmdrical article andcrimping edge portions of the wrapper overhanging the ends of thecylindrical article .comprising: supporting and rotating means forsupporting a cylindrical article and imparting thereto a rotatingmovement around its axis, means supporting a rotatable shaft above andparallel to said shaft, axially adjustable crimping assembliesassociated with said shaft for rotation therewith, each crimpingassembly including a hub having a plurality of elements extendingtherefrom and rotating therewith defining Ian orbital path concentricwith the rotational axis of said shaft, said elements including rotatingmembers having a rotational axis substantially tangental and transverseto the axis of rotation of said hub, actuating means for axiallyshifting one of said crimping assemblies between an inoperative and anoperative position, and for axially moving the yother of said crimpingassemblies toward and from said first crimping assembly operativeposition, and a guiding system operative to position each of saidcrimping assemblies in response to said article dimensions.

4. A machine for placing a wrapper around a cyhndrical article andcrimping edge portions of the wrapper overhanging the ends of thecylindrical article comprising: supporting and rotating means forsupporting a cylindrical article and imparting thereto a rotatingmovement around its axis, means supporting a rotatable shaft above andparallel to said supporting and rotating means, means for driving saidshaft, axially adjustable crimping assemblies associated with said shaftfor rotation therewith, each crimping assembly including a hub having aplurality of elements extending therefrom and rotating therewithdefining an orbital path concentric with the rotational axis of saidshaft, said elements including alternate rotatable members having anaxis of rotation substantially tangental and transverse to the axis ofrotation of said hub and alternate segmental plates extending radiallyoutward between said rotatable member, actuating means for axiallyshifting one of said crimping assemblies between an inoperative and anoperative position, and for axially moving the other of said crimpinglassemblies toward and from said first crimping assembly operativeposition, and a guiding system operative to position each of saidcrimping assemblies in response to said article dimensions.

5. A machine for placing a wrapper around a cylindrical article andcrimping edge portions of the wrapper overhanging the ends of thecylindrical article comprising: supporting and rotating means forsupporting a cylindrical article and imparting thereto a rotatingmovement around its axis, means supporting a rotatable shaft above andparallel to said supporting and rotating means, means for driving saidshaft, axially adjustable crimping assemblies associated with said shaftfor rotation therewith, each crimping assembly including a hub having aplurality of elements extending therefrom and rotating therewithdefining an orbital path concentric with the rotational axis of saidshaft, said elements including rotatable members each comprising aplurality of rollers coaxially mounted on a single shaft for independentrotation therein, actuating means for axially shifting one of saidcrimping assemblies between an inoperative and an operative position,and for axially moving the other of said crimping assemblies toward andfrom said first crimping assembly operative position, and a guidingsystem operative to position each of said crimping assemblies inresponse to said article dimensions.

6. A machine for placing a wrapper around a cylindrical article andcrimping edge portions of the wrapper overhanging the ends of thecylindrical article comprising: supporting and rotating means forsupporting a cylindrical article and imparting thereto a rotatingmovement around its axis, means supporting a rotatable shaft above andparallel to said supporting and rotating means, means for driving saidshaft, axially adjustable crimping assemblies associated with said shaftfor rotation therewith, each crimping assembly including a hub having aplurality of elements extending therefrom and rotating therewithdefining an orbital path concentricwith the rotational axis of saidshaft, said elements including tapered rollers attached to said hub,said rollers being attached to said hub so that the plane delineated bythe peripheral surfaces of said roller contacting the article end faceis parallel to the plane delineated by said segmental plates, actuatingmeans for axially shifting one of said crimping assemblies between aninoperative and an operative position, and for axially moving the otherof said crimping assemblies toward and from said first crimping assemblyoperative position, and a guiding system operative to position each ofsaid crimping assemblies in response to said article dimensions.

7. A machine for placing a wrapper around a cylindrical article andcrimping edge portions of the wrapper overhanging the ends of thecylindrical article comprising: supporting and rotating means forsupporting a cylindrical article and imparting thereto a rotatingmovement around its axis, means supporting a rotatable shaft above andparallel to said supporting and rotating means, means for driving saidshaft, axially adjustable crimping assemblies associated with said shaftfor rotation therewith, each crimping assembly including a hub having aplurality of elements extending therefrom and rotating therewithdefining an orbital path concentric with the rotational axis of saidshaft, said elements including tapered rollers attached to said hub,said rollers being attached to said llel to the plane delineated by saidsegmental plates, and

the linear velocities along the points of contact of the tapered rollerand the end face of the;` cylindrical article are substantially uniform,actuating means for axially shifting one of said crimping assemblies:between an inoperative and an`- operative position, and for axiallymoving the other of said crimping assemblies toward and from said firstcrimping assembly operative position, and a guiding system operative toposition each of said crimping assemblies in response to said articledimensions.

8. machine for placing a wrapper around a cylindrical article andcrimping edgel portions of the Wrapper overhanging the ends of thecylindrical article comprising: supporting and rotating means forsupporting a cylindrical article and imparting thereto a rotatingmovement around its axis, means supporting a rotatable shaft above andparallel to said supporting and rotating means, means for driving7 saidshaft, axially adjustable crimping assemblies associated with said shaftfor rotation therewith, each crimping assembly including ay hub havingan element extending therefrom andY rotating therewith; said element`dening anV orbital path concentric with thegrotational axis" of saidshaft', actuating means for axially shifting one of said crimpingassemblies between an inoperative and an operative position; and foraxially moving the other of saidy crimping assembliesI toward and fromsaid first crimping assembly operative position, and a guiding systemoperative to position each of said crimping assembliesv in response tosaidarticle dimensions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

